6/17/12

Muffin tops. If I'm out in public and I hear those words I automatically check my boobs to see if I have indeed produced muffin tops.Bad. Can't help it. Those kind of muffin tops are embarrassing. Check yourself--I know you do too.The muffin kind of muffin tops are not embarrassing, but actually really good.So good in fact, that one (myself included) seeks out a muffin with a really good, hearty, thick muffin top.Am I right? A truly good muffin is really 80% all about the muffin top.

Isn't that a good muffin top? Those crispy sides are buttery, sugar heaven. And perfect with hot morning coffee. :::swoon:::

Very easy to make. Just get all your fixings lined up and ready to go.

The crumb part? Do not be stingy--this is what helps produce a nice muffin top complete with crisp edges. These will rise a tiny bit, and spread out onto pan making your once circle muffin a nice big crispy muffin top square. This is good.

For the streusel:Combine all ingredients, but the butter in a bowl,. Mix then add in the melted butter, stir well, set aside.

For the espresso swirl:Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.

For the batter:Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl combine all the wet ingredients. Add the two together and mix till just combined.Line regular muffin tin with muffin liners. Using a spoon or small ice cream scoop, fill muffins halfway with batter. Then place a dollup (2-inch ball like amount) in middle of batter. Then fill remaining muffin up with batter—it’s ok to go “almost” to the top. We need to save a bit of room for the crumb topping.Next pack on the streusel. Gently push it down if you want, but not too hard.It’s ok if the muffins are overflowing a bit—mine were and this makes excellent muffin tops!

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Rotate pan halfway thru baking. Mine were done at the 20 minute mark. You can tell they are done by the non-jiggly middle. If you use a cake tester in middle you will hit the cream cheese filling and not get an accurate read. You need to let these cool a while before eating as the cream cheese needs to finish setting up and the muffin tops need to harden a bit. After all it’s all about the muffin tops. Should make about 10-12 regular muffins. Mine made 11 muffins.

Oh my. They look amazing, Dawn! Ironically I made crumble-topped muffins (post to go out next week) but yours trump mine b/c of that filling! WOW! Just the sound of it..I want to pick off those huge crumble chunks, too :)

Wish I could trade in my sad breakfast of white bread toast with cream cheese (all I could rummage from the fridge this morning). Of course, too many of these muffin tops might result in the *other* muffin top. Who am I kidding - I'll take that trade! 8-)

My muffin tops look like that because I overfill them every time. :) But I love them that way.While I'm not a coffee drinker, I adore coffee in just about everything else. Odd of me, I know. Definitely will be making these!

about vanilla sugar blog

Unique eats, creative recipes, as simple as possible.What drives me to create? Seeing dishes in restaurants, meals created on TV, recipes in cookbooks/online, and I always think to myself why didn’t they add this or why did they leave out that? Love to question, love to research, and love to learn about combining different flavors and textures in recipes.Recipe creations please email: vanillasugarblog@aol.com